Local dealer had a GT, took it out for a quick test, very nice. Was not exactly what I was looking for as I like a convertible personally but it has got me thinking.

Car was a 07 very smooth and relaxing to drive, not at all like my uncles SS GT which has really been my only experience with the brand past the stuff from the 1920's-40's. But it still took off like a rocket when you wanted it to.

What is the current going rate on say a 07 GTC in a good color. One of the local non authorized dealers has one starting under 100K but I am not sure if that is representative of whats out there. In the coupes I have seen sub 70K car which are very clean online (2007 with low miles). That is really without hammering them on price a bit.

30k more for the convertible worth it?



I like the darker blue color but it would be a pain to keep clean. 95K or so without negotiation.

 

Well I must have got raped on mine. I bought an 07 GTC with 9K and paid 130K. Yes the car has a few extras but I am sure I did pay a premium. Am i please? YES! Everybody thinks the car is brand new.

Is it worth more for the convertible? I would have not bought the coupe. You either want an open top or not, period. My car has the same embossing on the seats as the one pictured. I see the chrome 20's are the lower grills chromed also? What is the wood on the inside?

If you feel you have lost some needed power then install a tuner and some pipes then you get the creature comforts and the acceleration.

 

First, it depends on your preference. If you really want a convertible (GTC), DO NOT SETTLE on a GT. I made the mistake of getting a GT all the while knowing that I had owned more convertibles in the past than I had hardtops. I bought a new GT in December of last year and lost $35k in July when I traded it in on a GTC. If you are a convertible type, do not fool yourself - you are incurable.

Second, I don't know about the $30 difference. I would think that is a little high. The base price of a new GT is currently $198,975 and the base price of a new GTC is $218,525, a difference of less than $20K. Maybe the GT depreciates faster. Is it worth it, yes. There is nothing like having the option of putting the top down when the time is right (if you are a convertible type). If it doesn't matter, they are both great cars.

Third, this will depend on if you are going to keep the car in your garage most of the time and use it sparingly or do you expect to drive her frequently. If you are the 1st type, a dark color may be preferable because there is nothing as beautiful as a detailed black (or dark blue) Bentley. I expect to drive mine frequently and therefore much prefer the lighter color. My 1st GT was Onyx (metallic black) and I did like cleaning her, but it was a constant challenge. The part I hated most was when I traveled out of town. For instance, after detailing the car with great care, I traveled to Austin to visit a good friend and invariably it rained. The car looked like hell and I was in no position to show her off like I had planned. It seems that every trip I took her, it rained, or just as bad, I was in constant fear it would rain. I currently have a lighter color and it is much easier to keep clean. I think it is natural that you would want your Bentley to look its best. Given the choice, I would rather that my red SL500 Mercedes be cleaner than my ML430 SUV. The higher end the car, the nicer you want the car to look.

 

Thanks for the opinion guys, I am definitely a convertible guy my last 10 cars or so have all been open top. Normally its not 20-30Kish to upgrade to do it though, and the GTC really stands out compared to the GT, completely different image. I am also a little younger then most owners so I am waffling a little bit on the brand and the GT/GTC. With the GT I can just tint the windows a bit and have a bit on discretion. The CGT it seems like you would be on display.


Also this is going to be my main car, we have a HOA at the new home that only allows for cars to be stored in the garage. We only got a 2.5 car garage so the Bentley is going to be it. I only drive 7K miles or so a year now that the office is so close. So it is a going to dinner, going to the office, and a few trips to LA, and sitting at the airport car for me. Most of my driving will be in and around the LA Jolla area so a GT is not a unusual car there.

The darker color is what really worries me. Symbolic has a very nice 11K mile certified 07 in a light silver and parchment interior that I like. It is another 10K or so but it is lower mileage and in better cosmetic condition and it would not show scratches.

Locally I have looked at a 07 PP GT in like a creamy white color at 75K though with 20K miles. I just don't know how well the GTC is going to hold up as a DD. The GT I would not feel so worried about. Not as easy to vandalize, a little more discreet. The GTC really stands out.

Both of my uncles who have Bentleys went with the GT SS versions and have upgraded over the years to newer models. Never had an issue with their cars at all which is what really has interested in them. But the SS is just way to much car for a DD.

Very confused. To add more confusion the wife says lease a smart car for when I need to leave the car at the airport or going shopping which we can store in the half part of the garage when I am not using it.

 

You bring up some very valid points, especially if your are concerned about vandalism when you leave your home area. This is a concern for all of us in today’s political climate, which is sad. A Bentley, GT or GTC, just screams “I’m part of the 1%, why don’t you just come over here and kick my a$$?”. This concern is probably shared by the majority of Bentley owners, so you are not alone. I know this was one of the reasons I did not get the GTC (because of the cloth top), when I bought the GT in December of 2012.

However, for many of us, choosing a car is not about being practical. For us it is a highly emotional activity. And my problem is, that whenever I try to be practical (in your case to get a GT or smart car instead), most of the time at the end of the day, I am not happy and I waste my money. There is a certain percentage of us over indulging, self absorbed, ‘A’ types that just can’t help ourselves. And for us to kid ourselves into making practical decisions just betrays our true nature which does not work 99.999% of the time.

BTY - my friends call me ‘a shallow showoff’ and those are my friends.

 

I am not going to lie that is the biggest hangup I have right now.

A Bentley puts me right in the cross hairs of a lot of people, a lot of people who I would really not like to associate with. Normally I could care less what people think about me but when my GT3 was keyed on the second day I got it; I dropped out of fancy cars for a years until I felt like chancing it again. .

 

Look WearyMicrobe (love the name), it is a problem, no doubt. I too got keyed a few years back. I had just taken delivery of a new black pearl Mercedes 300E and got keyed at a yacht club of all places. Another time, I was at a restaurant and saw a person drag his beer can across the side of one of my cars. It is crazy that if you work hard and try to achieve the American dream that your reward is that others want to make it a nightmare and that is sad indeed.

My advantage over you is that I am 68 years old and therefore have less time to be scared. I do not welcome adversity and I am in no condition to confront it. Anyone who contemplates owning a GTC, unless they are very wealthy, is going to go through the same thought process. It is sad. And we really can't give each other advice about this issue because the moment we do, the other person may have an adverse encounter.

I, after much deliberation, have decided that I am going to drive my GTC. I am going to get dings, bugs on the paint, maybe keyed, etc. However I have decided that I am going to enjoy the ****&ng car, in any event, even with all of those prospects. There is an old latin saying "Illegitimi non carborundum" which means "Don't let the bastards grind you down". As I said earlier, I cannot speak for you or anyone else, but I have grown to love my Bentley to the point that I am going to enjoy her, no matter what.

These are not just pieces of machinery, they are our friends.

Good luck WearyMicrobe.

 

^^^^^^^^^
What he said. Drive the CGT rain, shine, snow, etc. Great daily driver.

 

OK guys think you might have talked me into it. Going to take the wife to a lunch today and we are going to go see a 08 in glacier blue with cream interior. See if she likes it as well as I do we will see.

Still not entirely convinced. She still thinks of Bentley's like my uncles SS which was far to rough and loud and the seats for her were uncomfortable.

 

Excellent color choices WearyMicrobe. Sounds pretty close to the colors to my GTC which are Fountain Blue with a Linen interior (pictures attached). The color will not show dirt nearly, nearly, nearly as easily as the darker colors and IMHO screams California, festive, stunning and convertible. When I took delivery of my blue GTC it was raining in Houston so we took the demo drive in the worst possible conditions. When I got the car home, I could not readily tell it had been in the rain.

Now for a backup plan. Let us say your wife is too unsure about a Bentley GTC and that you like it. A day or two after she expresses her reservations, tell her that she is probably right and that it may be better to get an Aston Martin. The Aston Martin is everything that the Bentley is not - it is uncomfortable and totally British which means that it is highly unreliable. The Bentley is the perfect combination of British styling and German mechanicals. Once she is exposed to the Aston and its heritage, she is unlikely to kill 2 of your dreams in a row and cave in on the Bentley. This is how I got my wife won over to the Bentley except that I looked at the Aston 1st.

Again, good luck WearyMicrobe (I really love that name).

 

One last thing about the colors WearyMicrobe. IMHO it takes guts to choose an exterior color other than Black, White or Silver in any car, especially a Bentley. People may think the blue Bentley is the prettiest car that they have ever seen, but when push comes to shove and they are putting their hard earned money down, most of the time they will cave in and choose one of the normal colors. The only problem with that is, being a normal color, people who are unfamiliar with Bentleys will think you bought a Chrysler because you could not afford a Cadillac.

Right Dr. Disaster.

 

I don't do mild colors, my current car is bright gold with heavy flake/pearl. SO the blue does not really scare me. The cream interior on the other hand does, I will have to have it cleaned a few times a year.

 

How did the viewing go?

 

Interesting to say the least. They had a GT and a GTC in stock, both 2007 both with about the same miles.

The interior on the GTC was a very light white, with blue contrasting stitching in the paint color. It had just about ever single option that you could put on a car. The interior was dark blue on the leather not black like I expected. The seats have the flying B done in the blue stitching as well. Its the car in the picture I posted earlier. The taillights were tinted which I did not like. It had a few swirls in the paint as well. It is VERY unique looking Bentley. Not your usual Black/Black car. But it actually is a little purple in the paint color. Which I do not like. All in all its definitely cool but it is not discreet. I am sitting in the car in teh showroom and darn near everyone in looking at cars turned their heads when we fired it up. People looking through the windows and pointing as well as I had the hood up and when I was fooling with the seats. Sticker was 240K new.

The GT was a light blue, with a very dark blue leather interior. 07 with 18K miles I think. I actually think I like the look of the coupe a little bit more then the GTC. The blue interior looks very different in the light then inside the showroom. I don't think I can do a blue interior no matter how dark.

I found a Green on saddle interior 06 locally that I am going to try and see this week if I can sneak out. I know for sure that I do not want the mulliner package now. The Green 06 is ~35K cheaper then the CGT not that it effects my decision but it could be a bit of a push in that direction.

 

Well Grwishwer I was just thinking that we should be damned ashamed of ourselves for any success that we have worked for. I am going to pry off the Bentley emblems and affix the Chrysler badges front and rear.

You will be persecuted for buying a fine car, period. Most of the time you will never hear it it because of the cowardice of the persecutors. My car made the local gossip column again as I have spent tons of money to rub it in the faces of those I could care less about.

I just want to be left alone and enjoy my car. Car is the perfect DD.

As to choosing the colors and leather my opinion, which I apparently share to often, is you have not seen THE car. Your gut will compel you to make the purchase. It is a sad day when a man feels pressured to avoid a convertible and tint the windows to hide from the public that hates a successful man.

Sorry for any excessive cynicism but I am fresh off the public grilling.